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“My allergies are going haywire this morning – yesterday it was raining and today it’s sunny. I just checked Weather.com and the pollen count is high today and will be for the rest of the week....”
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“I just realized this is my 999th tasting note! What? Really?
How did THAT happen?
Of course, many of my notes are repeats of teas I’ve already reviewed, because once I find something I love, I...”
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“Verdant green tea #3 for the evening.
First infusion:
Hmm, my nose isn’t detecting any aroma. Maybe it’s tired. Mmmm, this is clearly different from the other two. I almost got the sort of tea...”
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“Revisiting this tea this afternoon. This is one of the very best green teas that I’ve had. It is sweet and delicate and has a complexity all its own.
I managed six infusions from these leaves...”
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From Verdant Tea

Jingshan is a little-known mountain village in Yunnan province that has quietly been producing some of the best green tea out there. Anyone who enjoys the more delicate Chinese greens like Dragonwell, will love these sun-dried fresh spring 2012 buds.

The aroma of the dry leaf is incredibly reminiscent of dried lychee fruit, with a sweetness that you can almost taste as you breathe in the aroma. The wet leaf has much darker more savory tones to the aroma, edging towards nutty.

The flavor of the first steeping is incredibly sweet and refreshing with a mouth-watering juiciness to the texture. The predominant flavors are citrus lime notes and a certain creamy grassiness that reminds us of matcha. The texture is far more sweet and juicy than last year’s harvest.

The second steeping goes in an interesting direction towards the more savory notes we got out of the aroma. There is a creamy nutty flavor like cashew. The darker elements paired with a crisp green flavor reminds us of fine genmaicha. More of the traditional silky Yunnan texture comes through in later steepings, along with hints of fresh sage. This tea brews up great hot or iced.

98 Tasting Notes

My allergies are going haywire this morning – yesterday it was raining and today it’s sunny. I just checked Weather.com and the pollen count is high today and will be for the rest of the week. MEH!

Anyway when my allergies are bothering me that’s a good time to focus on green tea. I decided to revisit this one this morning and I need to finish it off anyway because I’ve had it for a while. A delicate tea with the flavor of peas this morning. See previous notes for more info.

achoo! =)

Preparation

I just realized this is my 999th tasting note! What? Really?
How did THAT happen?
Of course, many of my notes are repeats of teas I’ve already reviewed, because once I find something I love, I want to drink it over & over again, & tell everyone how great it is.
But it feels a little crazy that my next tasting note (after this one) will be #1000. I feel like I should do something special, & in all honesty, if I’d realized this was #999 before I poured the water, I probably would have picked a different tea. Too late.
So…I will openly admit that this is not my favorite green tea. It starts out tasting rather wine like, with a bright fruitiness that quickly morphs into a lime citrus taste & oral sensation. There is also a floral element that is just a little too perfumey for my tastes. The mouthfeel is very bright & almost metalic on the tip of my tongue, again, that citrus-like sensation, & astringent to my throat. I can never make it through all the steepings of this one, as it is the type of green tea that tends to irritate my stomach as well. On the other hand, it seems to have some nice Chaqi. I wonder if they ever process this leaf as Sheng?
Time to drink a big glass of cold water!

First infusion:
Hmm, my nose isn’t detecting any aroma. Maybe it’s tired. Mmmm, this is clearly different from the other two. I almost got the sort of tea flavour one gets from a black tea, which is interesting. It’s sweet as well, but much different from the dragonwell as there’s more body to it. I was strangely just reminded of an earl grey… yep, still getting that weird association. (It just occurred to me that I may be interpreting the citrusy note from my earlier review as the bergamot from an earl grey, but I can’t be certain).

Huh – I just went back to my first tasting note, and it totally isn’t meshing with what I’m tasting here, but I think I used a fair bit more leaf previously, given that I only steeped it for 1 minute that time. Also… wondering a touch if my teaball still had traces of Coconut Cream Pie lingering in it. Please don’t rag on me about the teaball – I know it’s less than optimal, but I only have two “open-water” infusers. Maybe I should have strained it instead. Actually, I had contemplated that earlier… I guess I forgot.

Anyways, this one probably is a poor comparison, in retrospect. I’m really thrown by how it’s tasting a bit like a black tea. Ah well. I know it was great the first time around. Might try a second infusion later, but I’ve kind of lost the will to bother at this point.

I think I should also compare these three in a more gong-fu sort of style (although I doubt I have patience for 3-second infusions, I could do 15 or 30 second ones). A fun experiment another night.

Preparation

Krystaleyn- I have had similar issues with my tea strainer lately. For example, I usually steep herbals like peppermint in my glass tea press. The last couple times I steeped it in my infuser and thought I cleaned it really well. The last couple teas (black) I’ve steeped in it were horrible tasting. I wasted a few cups of quality teas, because the peppermint was so strong even after cleaning it. S I think I’ll steep my herbals in glass now-it is much easier to clean.

As far as I know, I haven’t usually had a problem. I reserve my semi-fancy steeper for straight teas (no herbals, flavourings (aside from jasmine), etc.), and although the plastic is stained, it seems to be just fine (it provided me with delicious dragonwell today). My metal infuser basket seems to be similarly resilient, and it has had all sorts of things in it. Mind you, it’s also sturdy enough to scrub with a scouring pad, which I have done once or twice. The teaball had never given me problems to my knowledge, but it is definitely more difficult to clean, and I admittedly didn’t try too hard with it this time. Makes me wonder if I’ve had inadvertent cross-contamination in the past. I really should reserve it for strong-flavoured herbals and the occasional flavoured tea, but I just can’t afford more infuser baskets right now (or, not at 12.99 a pop from DavidsTea, which is the only place I’ve located them as yet), so sometimes it gets used for something like this.

I can only imagine what peppermint would do to the flavour of a good tea. Good thing I hate it and only very rarely steep something containing it! Not that there aren’t other strong, lingering flavours too, but I imagine that would be pretty gross.

I noticed that when I used my tea ball in the past, it was fine at first but then there were issues later on, the more I used it. Eventually it started to rust, no matter how well I dried it after washing! and the mesh was puckering as well. I hadn’t noticed the flavour residue issue… in my tea ball, though I had that concern with my plastic tea master.
Looks like we both had awkward tea experiences yesterday Kristaleyn :/

I had to get strong tea smell out (lapsang souchong) by cleaning with baking soda which removed the smell! Now, I have a dedicated pot for that and puer especially and clean stainless mesh with the soda. Also hands carry smells when tasting so you have to watch that too.

Now here is a conundrum….if I answer…..people will think I have dentures, If noone answers, someone is not helpful or is shy or is not telling the truth or something like that. So, since I should know because I’m the ole lady in the room…then NO they are not expensive but get um at a store like Walmart or Target because just like TP and Laundry Soap that sort of thing would be less expensive there.

I thought they were pretty cheap myself. I love that I can soak some thing and literally forget about until the next day. They are designed for things like tea stains on stuff that stays in your mouth, so they safe little work horses!

Revisiting this tea this afternoon. This is one of the very best green teas that I’ve had. It is sweet and delicate and has a complexity all its own.

I managed six infusions from these leaves (combining the liquor of 2 infusions in one cup), with each cup tasting quite different from the previous one. The first cup was quite sweet, soft and crisp. It has a remarkably clean taste, with hints of citrus that become more apparent in the aftertaste. The second cup was still sweet, but the sweetness had mellowed somewhat and there was a new, savory tone that was emerging. The third and final cup offered a very pleasant savory tone. It was still sweet, but less so than in the first four infusions.

A very, very pleasant green tea. This is one that I will need to order very soon.

Nice! I’m definitely going to, just going to wait until my current green tea cupboard is a bit more empty. I’ve learned to keep no more than about 4-5 green teas there at a time (and of those, no more than 2-3 open). I’m sure I’ll get to try them soon. Thanks for the advice!

This is for the 2013 harvest as I’m not apt to creating new entries for each year unless someone already has that done. I’ve come to recognise that as far as greens go, i’m best to have small samples for when i want a green straight tea rather than buying actual ounces of tea. I like green teas but they require a certain state of mind from me to really enjoy them. Blacks are still my go to tea.

This is a really lovely tea. I’ve been drinking it this morning while i get ready to meet up with raritea to visit doors open toronto for a wee bit and head to the king edward for late afternoon tea. It should be a really nice time and it looks like the weather is cooperating even if it is a bit cooler than i’d like. My over all impressions of this are that it’s light, slightly floral but not in a way that i don’t like, there’s a sweetness to it as well…I’ll likely be finishing this off over the weekend so more to come.

OMG. Is this really green tea? I’m brewing this in the little yellow pot I usually use for oolongs and I suspect I’m somehow drinking an oolong instead of a green. Is it possible for green tea to have such sweet complexity and floral savory smoothness? This lightly colored liquor is absolutely lovely. It’s got this bright exotic citrus zestiness and an underlying vegetal deliciousness. Mmmm…

Steep two is more vegetal with a ghostly hint of limey flowers. It’s pleasingly drying. Mmm..brothy…

I can imagine this being so good lemon pound cake or thai food. versatile and so very good. I totally get why people are crazy over these Verdant Teas.

Hey! This is my first Verdant? I think I’ll have to explore further…
Thank you Azzrian for this delicious sample! so good!

I truly believe I have found a great tea seller with Verdant! This Sun Dried Jing Shan Green is a gorgeous tea. Especially after drinking the Hand Picked Oolong! The aroma is intoxicating and so is the flavor! I brewed this basket style with a generous amount of leaves. I am higher than 10 Himalayans! My sincere thanks to David for honoring my request for a sample of Big Red Robe { a generous amount too } and the Dragonwell. You have a loyal customer….

:) Having tried almost all of Verdant’s teas, I can tell you that each one, every time, feels like a special privilege to drink. Living in the same city, I’ve been able to have plenty of direct contact and discussion with David; and it’s long been clear to me that he and his sourcing contacts have exceptionally refined taste, and take quality control very seriously.

This is different from any tea I have ever tasted. I think I now understand what ‘linen’ means. I am not sure if I like it or not. I don’t hate it but I think this one is going to be a bit of an acquired taste for me. I feel terrible not loving it as much as all the cool kids do. :( I’ve tried it Western style and jingshan style. I will continue messing with steep times to see if my opinion changes. I think the biggest problem I have is that linen taste and mouthfeel..I will leave the rating off for now. Next attempt will be western style but with about half the steep time.

Okay, having tried it the above way I like it much better. Still leaving the rating off until I ‘get’ this one.

Don’t worry about “cool kids!” Just worry about you and the tea.
The taste of Yunnan is really strong (that linen-y feeling). Some people love it and some people don’t. Just give yourself time to try it out and see how you feel. It’s nice to see you trying it lots of different ways- I’m sure the tea appreciates your kindness and benefit of the doubt!

Have you tried doing a cold brew of this yet? I have a feeling that would make it more sweet/lime/sparkling, which might be more up your alley.

Could be! Or it could be so weird and new it’s unsettling, and you might grow to enjoy it. Who knows? It’ll be interesting to see if you have a similar experience with any other teas from Yunnan, like Yunnan black/golden needle/dian hong, or even sheng pu’er.

I just checked my cupboard to see if I have any samples from Yunnan and I see I have a sample from Teavivre, their Ripened Aged Puerh, that is from yunnan. I will have to try it soon to compare. I’ve been holding off trying it because I don’t have a gaiwan

Hey, good advice from Spoonvonstup. I actually just put up a video on teh Verdant site on doing Gaiwan-style steeping without a gaiwan. It might be helpful:http://verdanttea.com/tv/improvisational-gong-fu-tea/
Good luck. I hope you end up having fun with teas from Yunnan. I love them!

I received this one as a free sample in my latest Verdant order. It’s a tea I’ve been meaning to try but have never got around to ordering or requesting a sample, so I’m glad David read my mind and included it. The website says that the current harvest (2012) is acutally sold out, so I guess I got some of the last bits of it!

The dry tea smells surprisingly floral and not grassy-green teaish at all. Steeped western style it has that lovely, bakery-ish buttery aroma I have come to associate with fine green teas. I never knew about that before, so the first time I encountered it, it was a shock! A pleasant shock. This one doesn’t fall into the cookie-ish category on the flavor, though. No, this is bright and fruity and a tiny bit floral. It also has this almost tingly feel to the sip. There’s also a bit of a snap pea flavor lurking about the edges. This tea is oh so summery to me, which makes it kind of an odd choice for a fall day, but it is delicious nonetheless. I feel like I could have probably used a bit more leaf, not shocking since it is so curly and thus difficult to dish out with a teaspoon, but it still has a good amount of flavor and plenty of aroma.

Preparation

This is a nostalgic green tea for me. All of Verdant’s other greens are from the far-off village of Laoshan in Shandong Province. This one alone falls within the Southern Chinese growing region, hailing from Yunnan.

The first time I tried this was a dark rainy night in Hangzhou. I had wrapped up a day of interviews with tea vendors, mostly selling Dragonwell, and found myself out in torrential rain walking along the shoreline of the city’s famous lake. My goal was to find either a taxi or a teahouse to get out of the rain. I walked and walked with no luck at either. After about an hour of wandering and thorough pounding from the rain, I saw an old wooden structure down a side street. The whole sign was not visible, but I saw the character for tea, and made a dash for it. As I rounded the corner, I saw that the sign read “Jingshan Teahouse.” I had never heard of Jingshan before, but didn’t particularly care. I entered the old wooden building and asked for a table.

The teahouse was completely empty, and the woman behind the counter scurried upstairs to find a table and some hot water. She handed me a big, wooden-bound menu proudly and I opened it to find just three teas. Jingshan Tea, Jingshan Budset Tea, and Jingshan Early Spring Tea. I almost laughed at the oddity of three menu items, but ordered the Early Spring Tea, and waited. Instead of the usual Gaiwan, the woman brought a short glass, poured hot water and sprinkled the tea leaves on top, telling me to wait for the tea to start dancing around.

This was clearly no ordinary tea waitress. I struck up a conversation while waiting for the leaves to open and found out that her family was a farmer family in Yunnan, and they saved money to open a shop in Hangzhou to spread the tea of their village that they were so proud of. I sipped the tea and experienced a crisp, sparkling and determined sweetness that impressed me. The woman was very happy I liked it and immediately began pulling out books and picture albums of the mountain Jingshan. I convinced her to sell me a little bag of tea to drink at home, and left much happier, and with much more taxi-finding skill.

It took me three years to track her down again, and with some help from good friends in China, I was able to bring the Jingshan green that she shared with me to America. I have been drinking it hot and iced, and notice that its original effect of clearing the mind and having an overall cleansing feeling remains true. When I am not in the mood for the bean-like heartiness of Laoshan, I turn to the lighter Jingshan, and watch the buds uncurl in a glass tumbler.

My hope is that some Americans will get as much joy out of discovering tea from an obscure little-known village as I have. While neither Jingshan or Laoshan are famous, the farmers are honest, devoted and honorable.

Thank you for sharing such a great personal story with us! Through your bringing this tea to the USA and making it available to us, we have a wonderful chance to share in your serendipitous finding of the Hangzhou/Jingshan teahouse. Looking forward to trying this tea soon!

That is a really cool story!
I have been to Hangzhou, but only for two days… took a boat out on West Lake.
But finding a tiny little teashop like that (NOT selling Long Jing!), discovering the tea… then actually being able to track them down again … what a fun experience. Makes me feel very nostalgic too, thinking of my experiences in China. Thanks for sharing.

Thanks so much everyone! I am glad that these little stories are well-enjoyed. Much of the enjoyment of tea for me has been listening to stories. There is nothing like sipping the day away at a teahouse while a tea master tells you all the legends of their village. I really want to bring more of that feeling of discovery to tea drinking back in the west.

Your story was one of the main reasons I wanted to try this tea. It did not disappoint. I would love to sit in a tea house and listen to a tea masters legends and stories! I don’t think I’d ever want to leave!